Bernie Farley

Yesterday was cold and dreary. But I know that spring is almost here because Whitewater Warehouse (104 Valley Street) has opened for the season. I stopped by and talked with owners Jeryl Yantis and Bernie Farley (in photo).

Dayton owes these two people a lot. They were the original champions, way back in 1996, for Dayton’s river run features downtown. They sold the idea to Five Rivers MetroParks, who then got Montgomery County. the city of Dayton, the RTA and the Miami Conservancy District on board. I asked Bernie what he thought about the river run that came about 20 years after he first had the idea.

“I think it’s great” he told me. “It took a long time, but at least I’m still around and still healthy enough to enjoy it. They did a great job on it, and it’s drawn a lot of people to this area.”

“We try to promote all of Dayton’s outdoor activities. The various activities all work together. The area has a wonderful network of bike paths, a lot of which are next to the water. Bikers enjoy seeing people using the water and some of them get into those water sports.”

Bernie told me he plans to rent kayaks downtown during some of the festivals this summer.